Former Fox News commentator Eric Bolling spoke about the loss of his son Wednesday.
Eric Chase Bolling died in his college dorm room last September after ingesting a lethal mix of cocaine and fentanyl. He was just 19 years old.
“On September 8 of this past year, my wife and I had gone out to dinner and were about to, as you point out, turn the page on my career,” Bolling said. His son’s death occurred a few days after he was kicked off of Fox News.
“Went out to dinner, everything was fine, and on the way home from that dinner my cell phone rang… It was one of Eric’s friends, who was in a panic, and he said, “Mr. Bolling, call Kaylee.’”
Bolling, who is set to meet with the president this week, is using the tragedy as a reason to fight against the opioid epidemic. The drugs that took his son’s life have taken many others. The nation is in the grip of a real crisis.
“She was crying and, I don’t know, for whatever reason, it’s that phone call that every parent dreads…the first thing I said was, ‘Is he alive?” Bolling continued, describing how he learned of his son’s death.
“It was a complete devastating shock to us… Your mind just goes to a place where I can’t explain.”
Bolling was fired from Fox because of sexual misconduct allegations, making him one of the many men brought down by the #MeToo movement. After his dismissal from the network and his son’s death, he completely changed his career path.
He’s still in the public eye, but now he’s focused on activism.
“This is the time to save some lives and that’s what I hope I’m doing here, helping people become aware,” he explained.
The White House budget proposed this week includes $5 billion in federal spending to combat the opioid crisis.
(Source: Daily Caller)